When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest tragedy, there’s really no contest. Badfinger — those power-pop pioneers and Beatles heir-apparents — take the sweepstakes every time. The group’s out-and-out sacrifice and destruction on the altar of greed resulted in the twin suicides of Pete Ham and Tom Evans, Badfinger’s gifted singer-songwriters. But before they took their exit from this corporeal plane, the duo made one last stab at greatness in the form of “Head First.”
Five decades after the album’s original production, Ham and Evans’s surviving bandmate Bob Jackson has deftly prepared a new mix for “Head First.” Working with Andy Nixon, Jackson has remixed the album for new generations of listeners. While the Welsh band’s story is pocked with despair and unmet potential, their remarkable achievements during their heartbreakingly brief time together continues to attract new fans, year after year.
And what’s not to love? In the early 1970s, they churned out a spate of hits marked by a searing originality with such titles as “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue.” They also scored memorable turns with a cover version of Paul McCartney’s “Come and Get It” and (as the Iveys) “Maybe Tomorrow.” Characterized by high-energy musicianship and strikingly original songwriting, Badfinger’s possibilities seemed utterly limitless.
As with so many acts, their financial naivete proved to be their ruination. Ironically, it was a cover version that proved to be Badfinger’s undoing. A collaboration by Ham and Evans, the soaring ballad “Without You” emerged as an international hit in the hands of Harry Nilsson. No less than Paul McCartney, a consummate hitmaker in his own right, pronounced Nilsson’s version as “the killer song of all time.” As Nilsson’s cover lorded over the charts, “Without You” promised to generate enormous royalties for Badfinger — the likes of which Ham and Evans could scarcely imagine.
By the time they convened at Apple Studios . . . the band was already in disarray.
As it turned out, their dreams of untold riches were theoretical at best. In 1970, Badfinger’s manager Bill Collins turned over the reins to Stan Polley, a shrewd negotiator who, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be the hard-nosed advocate the band sorely needed. In a move that would have tragic ramifications, the bandmates agreed to a deal with Polley that gave him full, irrevocable authority to negotiate all contracts on their behalf.
As fledgling recording artists with the Beatles’ Apple Records, Badfinger churned out a succession of albums, eventually signing a seemingly lucrative deal with Warner Bros. in 1974. By the time they convened at Apple Studios that December to record “Head First,” the die had been cast. The band was already in disarray, with longtime lead guitarist Joey Molland having taken his leave. When Warner Bros. learned about the extent of Polley’s fiscal depravity, they mothballed the album.
By April 1975, with the band’s future in tatters and teetering on bankruptcy, Ham killed himself. His suicide note didn’t pull any punches. “I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody,” he wrote. “This is better. Pete. P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me.” Evans would follow suit in 1983, killing himself with the financial realities of the band’s Apple era still hanging over him.
For Jackson, the recording sessions associated with “Head First” make for pleasant, albeit all short memories. In just over a fortnight, Badfinger regained their magic with such standout tracks as “Lay Me Down,” “Hey, Mr. Manager” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Contract.” The latter tracks are bitter reminders that the band’s fiscal woes were never too far out of earshot.
“Head First” finds new and refreshing life in Jackson and Nixon’s hands.
The crisp new remix for “Head First,” out now on CD and vinyl, owes a debt to Jackson’s relentless efforts to see the project through to fruition. As he recently explained to me, “I’ve been working for 50 years to make it happen — literally since Warners shelved the album and all of the mayhem that ensued from that.” Over these many years, Jackson has been on a quest to trace the location of the LP’s original multi-tracks. Even as recently as a year ago, Jackson felt as though “there was no hope. I thought I’d lost my chance. But getting hold of the multi-track stems changed everything.”
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“Head First” finds new and refreshing life in Jackson and Nixon’s hands. In particular, Jackson is proud of the album’s high quality in spite of the prevailing conditions. “Even though we were being rushed into the studio,” he recalls, “we didn’t want any kind of compromise when it came to the music. We were only given a very short time, as you know, less than two weeks, and we had to do everything in that time, including rehearsing, arranging, and recording the numbers. We refused to compromise on the art. We wanted to make it absolutely as good as we could.”
Five decades in the making, “Head First” is a testament — not only to Jackson’s steadfast commitment to seeing the project through, but also to the enduring power of Badfinger as one of rock’s most innovative and enduring acts. And if nothing else, Jackson reminds us, perhaps the band will also serve as a cautionary tale about what happens when “naïve artists become exploited by unscrupulous management. Hopefully, the music business, in general, has continued to learn some lessons from the story of Badfinger.”
If you are in crisis, please call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
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